'The Woman in Black'

A truly nerve-shredding experience at Flat Rock Playhouse

Published: Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 8:26 p.m.

Flat Rock Playhouse presents "The Woman in Black," a spine-tingling and gripping theatrical experience, based on a ghost story, on stage Oct. 21 through Nov. 1.

The original ghost story was written by Susan Hill; the stage version was adapted by Stephen Mallatratt.

"The Woman in Black" follows the tradition of Charles Dickens, M. R. James, Henry James and Edith Wharton. "The Woman in Black" is not a tale of terror, yet the events build up to a climax that instills a sense of horror.

Starring Peter Thomasson and Willie Repoley, "The Woman in Black" relies on atmosphere, a vivid sense of place, on hints and glimpses and suggestions, on what is shadowy, heard and sometimes only half-seen, to chill the viewer's blood to the marrow and make watching the play inadvisable for the faint-hearted.

"As the autumn months approach, our sensibilities turn toward the mysterious," says director Scott Treadway, who doubles as Flat Rock Playhouse's associate artistic director. "There's something about crisp breezes and lengthening nights that just begs for a good ghost story. And those with an interest in the dark side of human nature will find just what they're looking for in this psychoanalytic view of a ghostly experience."

This psychological ghost story plays on our fascination with ghosts, the macabre, and delivers a sharply felt sensation of supernatural dread. It tells the story of a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town. Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House looks out onto the wind-swept reaches of the salt marshes, and at high tide is completely cut off from the main land.

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant. But Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind the shuttered windows of the house.

While sorting through Drablow's papers at Eel Marsh House, he endures an increasingly terrifying sequence of unexplained noises and chilling events. When he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black. Years later, as an old man, he recounts his experiences to an actor in a desperate attempt to exorcise the ghosts of the past, hoping that this will help him to finally move past those events.

"The Woman in Black" continues to play to London audiences after 19 years and remains a popular and chilling experience. Wells Fargo Advisors present "The Woman in Black" on stage for two weeks Oct. 21 - Nov. 1.

<p>Flat Rock Playhouse presents "The Woman in Black," a spine-tingling and gripping theatrical experience, based on a ghost story, on stage Oct. 21 through Nov. 1.</p><p>The original ghost story was written by Susan Hill; the stage version was adapted by Stephen Mallatratt.</p><p>"The Woman in Black" follows the tradition of Charles Dickens, M. R. James, Henry James and Edith Wharton. "The Woman in Black" is not a tale of terror, yet the events build up to a climax that instills a sense of horror.</p><p>Starring Peter Thomasson and Willie Repoley, "The Woman in Black" relies on atmosphere, a vivid sense of place, on hints and glimpses and suggestions, on what is shadowy, heard and sometimes only half-seen, to chill the viewer's blood to the marrow and make watching the play inadvisable for the faint-hearted.</p><p>"As the autumn months approach, our sensibilities turn toward the mysterious," says director Scott Treadway, who doubles as Flat Rock Playhouse's associate artistic director. "There's something about crisp breezes and lengthening nights that just begs for a good ghost story. And those with an interest in the dark side of human nature will find just what they're looking for in this psychoanalytic view of a ghostly experience."</p><p>This psychological ghost story plays on our fascination with ghosts, the macabre, and delivers a sharply felt sensation of supernatural dread. It tells the story of a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town. Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House looks out onto the wind-swept reaches of the salt marshes, and at high tide is completely cut off from the main land.</p><p>Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant. But Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind the shuttered windows of the house.</p><p>While sorting through Drablow's papers at Eel Marsh House, he endures an increasingly terrifying sequence of unexplained noises and chilling events. When he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black. Years later, as an old man, he recounts his experiences to an actor in a desperate attempt to exorcise the ghosts of the past, hoping that this will help him to finally move past those events.</p><p>"The Woman in Black" continues to play to London audiences after 19 years and remains a popular and chilling experience. Wells Fargo Advisors present "The Woman in Black" on stage for two weeks Oct. 21 - Nov. 1.</p>